Why A House Detailing Business Was A ‘No Brainer’ For This Franchise Partner

After 15 years of running a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise with her husband, Yvonne de Boer is going it alone… but keeping it in the O2E Brands family, of course. Here, she explains why owning a Shack Shine Franchise was a ‘no brainer’, what motivates her to build a business at the age of 50, and what makes her territory unique (hint: it’s not Justin Bieber).

So Yvonne – what made you want to own a business?

Well, we actually already own a business, my husband and I. He owns a 1-800-GOT-JUNK franchise. So I’ve been familiar with that brand and the people behind it, the same people behind Shack Shine, for 15 years. Originally we weren’t going to buy another business until our kids were completely out of the house, but they were like, “What are you nuts? We want to be involved!”. We’ve got a 21-year-old, 19-year-old, and a 16-year-old, and they’re all involved in our junk business – they work on the trucks! 

So will join your Shack Shine team, too?

Well, two of them probably. One of them is looking to move on to different areas – I mean they have their own lives too, right? But my 16-year-old has already started helping me field market.

That’s amazing. So what was it that appealed about Shack Shine as opposed to any other business?

My husband kind of came up with the idea, actually. We always thought that I would take over more of the junk business and he would start something else. But then he was talking to somebody who was already involved in Shack Shine and it got him curious – so he came and told me about it, and we discussed it, and I said, “yeah, that doesn’t scare me at all, it sounds really cool.” I’m a homeowner, so I really saw the value in a business that unites these services together. I knew that I could sell it myself because I believe in it myself. Also, O2E Brands has been really good to us, through our experience with 1-800-GOT-JUNK, so it was kind of a no brainer to invest in another of their franchises. 

What would you say is your main motivator in life and in business?

Oh, my family. My kids are incredible, my husband’s incredible, and I do this for them. But also for myself, you know, because I can do this – there’s a sense of pride in building something yourself… which can happen at the age of 50, believe it or not! 

What advice would you give to anyone looking at franchise options?

Go for it. Because you have systems in place for you that are already tried and tested, and you own a business, but a business in which you are supported. I only have experience with O2E brands, but I’ve heard that compared to a lot of other franchises, they’re just incredible – they really want to see you succeed. I think Brian Scudamore especially really does care about all of the Franchise Partners – and that’s pretty unique and pretty special in a franchise system.

What would you say makes your territory, London, Ontario, unique?

I love the fact that it’s probably the largest small town in Ontario. It’s huge, there’s a lot of people in it, but it still has a small town feel to it. We’re far enough away from Toronto that we’re not 24/7, we’re not go, go, go. The city kind of shuts down a little bit on Saturday afternoon and Sunday is a little quieter again. But the people are what make it, for sure.

And it spawned Justin Bieber.

Yeah, that’s kind of cool too, I guess. [laughs]

What are your passions outside of work? 

Oh boy, I love traveling. That’s probably a big one right now. You probably hear that from a lot of people, right? I’m doing a little bit in the community through a church that we’re a part of, too, and we really enjoy that. We’re also involved in things like the Santa Claus parade, a lot of different little community things.

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